Colorado task force says marijuana should be in child-proof packages

The possible rules for Colorado's forthcoming recreational-marijuana industry have begun to take shape, after a marathon meeting of a state task force.

Under proposals endorsed Monday by the state's Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force, marijuana products would have to be sold in child-proof packaging and not contain any logos or ingredients designed solely to appeal to children. They could not be mixed with nicotine. Marijuana and pot-infused edibles would have to come with labels that would detail the items' potency and also disclose the pesticides or fertilizers used in cultivation.

"We're trying to give the consumer the information so that he or she can make the right decision," said Dr. Chris Urbina, the head of the state Health Department and a task-force member.

Recreational-pot shops could sell only marijuana and marijuana-related items such as pipes. They could not advertise anywhere that kids would likely see their ads, such as television, radio, billboards or general-distribution newspapers. And recreational-marijuana stores would not be able to make any health claims about their products.

The task force also adopted proposed policies that would create an "unbiased, fact-based" state website to educate people about marijuana and that would create a committee to identify marijuana topics that Coloradans need to know more about.

The task force is proposing a first draft of Colorado's recreational-marijuana rules, a never-before-done challenge that the group was given about three months to do. Monday's meeting was the task force's second-to-last. It will meet one more time, on Thursday, before it must turn over its report to the legislature.

Lawmakers are expected to pull the task force's recommendations into one big bill that will have to clear the legislature by the end of its session, on May 8.

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